John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I join with Senator McCarthy in seeking a debate on immigration policy. It would serve the House well if the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform came here to discuss this issue and progress in policy on asylum seekers. We all acknowledge the emotional side of the case referred to by Senator McCarthy. However, we should be fair and present the facts of this case as they are. The child in question is Italian and was born in Italy. His mother fled Italy with him and sought asylum in Ireland. Both mother and child are free to leave this country and return to Italy, where the child's father and woman's husband resides, at any stage. There is an onus on everyone to present the facts of such cases. Otherwise, we may have an open door policy which would undermine the integrity of the independent system of assessment currently in place.